8 | September/October 2019
$2,000 and $3,000 a year to $7,000. Since then, he helped raise $10,000 or more every year. That’s more than $350,000 over his tenure. When he started working with the Elks Cancer Auction, he did so because he knew how prevalent cancer was. A decade after starting his work, his 41-year-old son, David, died of liver cancer. Wes routinely said that his son’s death wasn’t his reason for spearheading the auction. He knew that in some way or another, everyone has been affected by cancer. It was his way of giving back. Wes passed away on July 5 at the age of 93. While the community still mourns the loss of a leader and business owner, Mark Chapman and the Elks Lodge wanted to make sure that Wes’ legacy lives on. They have officially renamed the Elks Cancer Auction to the Wes Posey Memorial Cancer Fund. They have also restructured the distribution of the funds to allow for a local fund for those facing their own cancer battle. In the past, they split the profits
up evenly between Purdue University and Indiana University’s cancer research departments. The auction is generally held in the spring, but Mark wants the public to know that donations are accepted any time. “If they would like to contribute to it throughout the year, they can,” he said. “Or if they’d like to make a contribution in his name, they can.” The decision to start the local fund was made before Wes passed away. “We kind of got to thinking, we give this money every year and they don’t hardly give us a thank you,” Mark said. “There are people who are traveling back and forth for everything. It’s expensive… As long as we have some money and people need help, we’re going to help them.” The specifics of next year’s auction haven’t been finalized yet. It’s generally held in February or March. Mark said they want the word out early, so anyone wanting to donate to the auction has plenty of time.